Hades Challenge

Disney's Hades Challenge uses properties from Disney's 1997 animated movie Hercules as a backdrop for an adventure game through ancient mythological Greece. The hero Hercules himself is indisposed so Zeus enlists your help to take care of various menaces to the lands of Greece. First, you are briefed by Philoctetes (Phil) on exactly what your quests will entail and how to accomplish them. You are issued a boat -- none other than the legendary Argo of "Jason and the Argonauts" fame -- with which to sail the isles, and a hero belt for storing collected items and accessing game options. Phil then gives you a mission briefing for you to carry out.

For example, the Minotaur is running loose on the island of Crete. Daedalus is working feverishly to build a maze to contain the monster. You must use the Argo to sail to Crete and do what you can to expedite the labyrinth construction. There are colorful characters from the movie and crazy ancillary animations and dialogue. Watch out for Hades' henchmen, Pain and Panic, who will be working tirelessly to thwart you under thread of frying at the hands of their boss. Solve a series of puzzles in order to finish the quest, sometimes with Phil's help via a magic eye.

After successfully completing a quest, Hades appears to quiz you on trivia of the Olympian gods. There are god statues everywhere throughout the land and clicking on them yields a brief lesson on that god or goddess. Thus, it's important to pay attention to these factoids during gameplay.